Miss Universe Gets Hot

The finale of the Miss Universe contest at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas is only ten days away. And yet, betting has not yet gotten underway, so it is hard to say who are the favorites.

I wrote about some of my personal favorites here and here, noting the representatives from Australia, Mexico, Ecuador, Peru, Czech Republic, Venezuela, Finland, Montenegro, Russia, the Netherlands, Singapore and Cyprus. Wow–that is quite a few. So over the next few days, until wagering gets going in earnest, I want to highlight a few more contestants in a very strong field. If, like me, you are still depressed over the election results–or, for that matter, anything else–I strongly recommend that you follow the links above. Viewing these contestants might be enough to convince you that all is not lost.

So, what has changed over the last week or so? The Miss Universe site has added a great many photographs, which give us a more balanced sense of each contestant. Plus, the Miss Universe organization has now posted video interviews on YouTube with many, soon to be all, of the contestants. I have not taken time to watch these interviews; if you watch them and have pertinent observations, feel free to speak up in the comments.

So here are a few more contestants worth taking note of. First, Miss Botswana. The current Miss Universe, Leila Lopes, is from Africa, and Sheillah Molelekwa could be a worthy successor. I like her in part because she says her “most treasured possession is her Bible.”

Next is Miss Cayman Islands, Lindsay Japal. I have been to the Caymans a number of times, but regrettably haven’t seen anyone quite like Miss Japal:

Miss Estonia, Natalie Korneitsik, has obvious virtues, but what I really like about her is this: “If Natalie could meet any celebrity, it would be Winston Churchill.” So she is one of us:

One more for tonight, Miss Finland. OK, I’m cheating: Miss Finland was featured in an earlier post, where I noted that she is “specially trained in close combat fighting which she learned as a member of the Finnish Defence Forces” and is currently studying International Marketing at the School of Economics of the Estonian Business School. But the Miss Universe organization’s latest photos deserve a reprise, so here she is once more, Miss Finland: